Valerie Strauss
Washington Post
It was five years ago that Chicago officials closed some 50 public schools in a move that drew widespread protests from the community. Now there are plans to close four more schools in a high-crime area and build a new $85 million high school.
Officials say the plan — which includes allowing private charter operators to open publicly funded schools on two of the shuttered sites — will reverse a trend of under-enrollment and help neighborhood students. Community members say that is not so, and the kids who will wind up getting hurt are mostly black students from low-income families who will be sent to other schools. Meanwhile, they say, the new high school will primarily benefit white students.
Officials say the plan — which includes allowing private charter operators to open publicly funded schools on two of the shuttered sites — will reverse a trend of under-enrollment and help neighborhood students. Community members say that is not so, and the kids who will wind up getting hurt are mostly black students from low-income families who will be sent to other schools. Meanwhile, they say, the new high school will primarily benefit white students.